Women's Health and Pregnancy

What is the impact of maternal obesity and gestational diabetes on neonatal adiposity and childhood obesity? Dr. Giridhara R Babu, the lead investigator of the study from the Public Health Foundation of India, Bangalore, helps explain the key findings of this study. In India alone, 4.3 million pregnant women are found to be overweight or obese. Obesity is a public health concern for pregnant women. Obesity leads to complications during pregnancy and birth, including a high rate of C-sections,…

A book on Indian Diet for Interstitial Cystitis (IC), the first of its kind, hopes to serve as an easy-to-understand guide for patients and caregivers to help manage IC or Painful Bladder Syndrome. Here is an interview with the co-author Neelanjana Singh who is a Nutrition Therapist & Wellness Consultant. Your book ‘Indian Diet for Interstitial Cystitis (Eat Healthy and Protect Your Bladder)’ was released last month. Could you tell us a little about it? Interstitial Cystitis (IC), now known…

Prachi*, 43 from Mumbai, India talks of her journey of pain due to adenomyosis, endometriosis and uterine fibroids, the treatment and complications. Initial symptoms and Diagnosis I’ve always had painful periods since menarche. During school days, my grandmother would apply hot cloth compresses on my back for relief. At times, I would leave it on for long, failing to notice that my skin had become red hot from it. Later on, I came to rely on an electric heating pads and painkillers for…

Screening for Cancer is a crucial part of Cancer Prevention and Control for women. In the second part of this guide on screening, Dr Gauravi Mishra  focusses on the screening strategies for women related cancers like Breast Cancer and Cervical Cancer.  Can you explain the difference between the various screening tools used for Breast cancer i.e. ultrasound vs BSE vs mammography vs thermography? Breast Self-Examination BSEs first started 1930s; gained more recognition in 1950s-1960s…

Deaths due to Breast Cancer are preventable. Just do the Breast Self Exam once a month to catch any abnormalities early. Download this shower card to reduce breast cancer mortality Breast cancer is one of the commonest cancers for women. It can also affect a small percentage of men. If detected early, it is also a cancer with one of the higher survival rates. So it is important that we take the necessary steps to detect lumps in the breast and other abnormalities early to improve our chances.…

Jassu Sekhon. 40 from Mumbai delivered a pre-term baby of 1.1Kg at 30 weeks. She shares her experience of what her baby had to go through and what she as a mother did to make her prematurely born baby stronger. Please tell us about your delivery and birth of your baby? I delivered my baby 2.5 years ago via caesarean section in a room full of doctors, with my partner by my side and listening to FM radio. Our daughter was pulled out and handed to me. One of the doctors pulled down the green…

A recent study1 by the Women’s Health Institute at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, USA reviewed the effects of paternal age on fertility, pregnancy and the health of children. While women are known to have a ticking clock for reproduction, men are not subject to a similar timeline. Dr Ameya Sirsat, a leading Fertility Specialist from Mumbai guides us through these recent study results and what it means for men in relation to their reproductive health. Is there a “biological clock”…

Neetu,43 has struggled with various symptoms of Hypothyroidism, be it weight gain, fatigue, lethargy over the years. She has tried to manage it with a combination of medications and lifestyle changes. But its not been easy. She candidly shares her challenges here. #YouAreNotAlone There was a steady pattern of unwanted weight loss and instead of feeling energetic; I was becoming more lethargic and listless. Thinking it was a hormonal issue because of heavy period flow that month, I went to see…

Nisha Suchak, 40, who is living with the von Willebrand Disease, which causes heavy menstrual bleeding and other bleeding problems, recounts some of the life threatening situation that she has had to battle. I have had a bleeding disorder since I was an infant. My knees and elbows would turn black and blue and would pain severely for several days every time I would get a bruise. Once, when I was 3-years-old, I fell on my face while running at home and my nose began to bleed. Most nosebleeds are…

Certain common day symptoms which last long may be signs of something serious. It is best to not ignore these. Dr. Shital Raval lists 13 such symptoms that women should not ignore. Women often tend to sideline their health over everything else going in their lives. After a long day it is common to have achy joints, tiredness, general feelings of malaise etc. all of which usually subside after a good night’s rest. However, if there are symptoms that are lasting, unexplained and do not subside…